When did Pokémon Go first become available to the public?

Pokémon Go first became publicly available on July 6, 2016.

The augmented-reality mobile game launched first in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. It was developed by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and it used location data, mobile cameras, and GPS-based exploration.

The launch was staged rather than simultaneous worldwide. Germany followed on July 13, the United Kingdom on July 14, Japan on July 22, and many other territories later. This rollout caused confusion because players in countries without an official release sometimes used unofficial downloads.

Pokémon Go became a major cultural event during Pokémon's twentieth-anniversary year. Its gameplay differed from the mainline role-playing games: players physically explored locations to find Pokémon, visited PokéStops, and battled at Gyms. The title also helped introduce Pokémon to many people who had not played the console games.